Bet You
by havanatitiana
Summary: Gon and I got a boring job at the Hunter Association, where we met this girl. What is she keeping from us? Things might get not as boring as I thought. Killua x OC
1. Stomach-aches and Bets

Bet You'll Fall

Hello everyone! It's been forever since I wrote a fanfic, so… i hope this turns out well.

/

"Great! This is just…" the white haired boy sighed in annoyance "Great."

He and Val had made a bet about how much time it would take to finish the last big paperwork of the month. He swore it would take just about an hour, while she thought it would take the whole morning, and here they had been waiting for about two hours in an eternal line. He could see from the corner of his eye that he smirked. He hated losing, scratch that, he hated losing to her.

He and Gon had been travelling for about 6 years, when they realized they needed to find a job. So, they finally ended up working for the Hunter Association, hoping it would be good pay and entertaining, exciting, active job. Well, he had hoped WRONG. It was mostly loads of paperwork. You would think that since they were both in the same office they would be able to have SOME fun. Wrong again. Gon, since he was, well, GON, he was fine with it and did his work with loads of enthusiasm and thought it was not ethic to joke around while working. He, being Killua, got bored, so he had to find a way to entertain himself. That way was Val. When they arrived at the office they had immediately noticed her, since she was their age, and got immediately got along. She had warned them about the BOREDOM of that job, saying that it would only get exciting with promotion helping them leave that damn office. So, as soon as they realized they were both bored, they started making bets. Now, 6 months later, they would make bets about anything.

Killua glanced at her while she smirked and flipped her black mid-length hair back, and then he sighed again. Now, not only did they have to wait in an eternal line, but he had ALSO lost this bet. Just like each they had made this month. NOW he had to buy her raspberries as usual, WHICH were out of season. This meant that they were fucking expensive, and she could eat as many raspberries as he could chocolate! After this last bet, he would be officially broke.

Killua took a step as the line moved foreward, and sighed. It would be a long morning.

"Now, come on." Val smiled "At least I get to eat healthy food, and you don't get to ruin your health with sugar" shed coughed a little while suppressing a laugh.

He just mumbled under his breath and waited for that morning to end. Around two or three hours later they left the damn building and had to go back to the office.

"Killua it's lunch time, why don't we grab something to eat and then head back?" she suggested.

"Okay, where to?"

"I dunno, maybe to the city market. I think I want some raspberries. Oh wait" She smiled evilly "I just remembered you owe me some!"

A vein popped in Killuas forehead and he looked away. "I know okay! Damn it all, why am I always losing nowadays?!" he asked in a dramatic way while raising his hands to the sky. She laughed her head off and he just smiled, while doing some math to find out if he could last 'till the next pay.

They finally arrived at the office and Gon looked up.

"Hey! I thought you would be ready before lunchtime" Gon said raising from his seat.

"Yeah, we finished just at lunchtime." Val said. "We just passed by a market and grabbed something to eat." She smirked at this and Killua put a defeated expression. Gon just sweatdropped and assumed Killua had lost another bet.

After work that day, the three of them went training for a few hours as usual (they wouldn't want that much paperwork to finish their career as hunters) and then they headed home. As soon as Gon and Killua went through the door Gon received a call.

"Yes? Oh hello, Jan" Killua furrowed his brow; Jan was their boss (though he was never in the office, which pissed Killua off). "Oh?... I don't think it would be a problem, sir. Assume we are, I will notice you if something comes up. Okay, no problem, have a good night sleep!" He cheerily hand up and Killua sweatdropped.

"So, what's up? Was he telling you why he never shows up at the office and how sorry he is?" Killua always complained about that if he got the chance.

"Hahahaha" Gon smiled at his friend "He actually called to say we had to take a trip for a few days to take care of something."

"At last, we finally get some action!" Killua made a victory pose and Gon sweatdropped.

"Not really Killua, it is a business trip in which we're supposed to attend a reunion."

Killua just sighed "That's too bad. But isn't a reunion faraway supposed to be important? Why send us newbies to take care of that? He's in charge anyway, shouldn't he go instead?"

"Well, he said it's about the work we've been taking care of, and since he hasn't been coming he knows nothing about it." Gon awkwardly smiled and continued. "He's sending Val with us, since she has experience in this kind of stuff. Oh by the way, out plane tickets are booked for tomorrow at 7,30 am. It'll be a two day trip, so we should pack up."

Killua turned around mumbling something under his breath about not liking to wake up that early and started packing.

/

"Finally some freedom!" Val said walking out of a big business building, with Killua and Gon nodding in agreement. They had been stuck there all day, making arrangements and having reunions. Even lunchtime was a reunion! Well, Killua and Gon didn't actually do much work. Val did most of it, negotiating and stuff, while they just took care of the technical aspects. They went over to have dinner at a local restaurant.

"I'll have some spaghetti Bolognese, please." Gon said and the waiter took notes. He looked over to Killua, who ordered a lasagna. He then looked over at Val who was still checking the menu; she suddenly opened her mouth in awe.

"I-Is this?" her eyes were as big as plates as she read the menu between her hands. "Vegetable stock with raspberry sauce?! I'd like to have three of these please!" she said with shiny eyes and everybody around sweatdropped. Killua and Gon looked at eachother with something in their eyes. Last time something like this had happened they had had to carry her because of her stomach-ache.

"Val!" Killiua looked at her "You'll have another stomach-ache after eating that much food!"

"Will not."

"Yes you will".

"No I won't."

So in the end, they ended up betting on that too. The food was served and they all enjoyed it and had a good time. As soon as Val managed (barely) to eat the last of her food, she paid her share and excused herself saying she was tired.

Killua and Gon also paid for their food and walked out of the restaurant.

"Hey Killua, wanna go sightseeing a bit? It's still kind of early." Gon said. Killua simply nodded and Gon called Val to say they would be back in a few hours. They had been walking for about 10 minutes and now were at a beautiful street market, but Killua kept putting a weird face. Gon stopped walking "What's up Killua?"

"Something's fishy" Killua put his hand to his chin "I'm sure she's keeping her stomach-ache from us!"

"Relax, I bet she's alright. She would've told us otherwise" Gon tried to reason with Killua.

"No she wouldn't have! I can't lose this bet, I'm fucking broke!" Killua complained.

"Then you shouldn't bet that much!"

"I know!" Killua held his head with both hands and then looked at Gon "I will check on her just for a moment. We're two blocks away from the hotel anyways. Will you come?"  
"I'll wait, don't be too long!" Gon waved at Killua as he ran to the hotel.

Killua was, for once, thankful that they had to share a room. It would be too obvious if she saw him come in and then just leave. As he stood on the elevator he decided to put on Zetsu so Val wouldn't notice him, and he then approached the door. He took the magnetic card out, which he was thankful for, since it was as quiet as keys got. He put his ear on the door and heard Vals breath; it was pretty fast.

'That's it!' Killua thought 'She's sick and I've won this time!'

He slowly opened the door, peeked inside and his eyes grew as plates.


	2. Did not expect that

Bet You: Chapter 2

"Hey Gon! I didn't take long, see?" Killua said approaching Gon who stood in the middle of the street market where he had left him.

"Hey Killua! Was Val alright?"

"Y-yeah, I guess" Killua looked away at Gons inquiry face "She was asleep and I didn't want to wake her, but she looked just fine to me."

"Oh, ok! Let's go check that Romantic Church out, it looks really old and they say it's over 800 years old…" Gon kept talking about the damn church and Killua couldn't help but NOT listen.

Around two hours later they returned to the Hotel Room, and Killua wished Gon had had some more sightseeing in mind. He did NOT want to go back now. Maybe he didn't want to return ever again. He tried to find an excuse, but it was late already and they had another LONG list of reunions the next day. Val was already asleep, so Gon and Killua got in their beds and slept.

Well, at least Gon did. Killua kept turning in his bed, he could NOT get himself to sleep. He had tried counting sheep and all that shit he had never had to try before. I did NOT work; he would manage to count a bunch of sheep and then SHE would appear in his mind.

/

**Flashback**

Killua's slowly opened the door, peeked inside and his eyes grew as plates. His heart started pounding so hard he thought she would hear it. In front of him, laying on a bed was Val. She had her black hair sprawled around her head in total chaos, and it shone with the dim light that entered through the window. Her pale skin shone as well but her cheeks were flushed, making her look simply beautiful. Her amber eyes were closed, so he could not see them, but she was not asleep. Her breath was rapid, almost hyperventilated. Her mouth would sometimes open slightly as she exhaled and then close in a tight line again. She was covered by the bed sheets, so most of her body was hidden. But it was winter and she had just one layer on her, which allowed Killua to notice her rapid chest movement. He could also see how her arm was stretched downwards, and her hand was just between her legs.

Val made a sound and Killua snapped out of it. He slowly closed the door and didn't stop until he was in front of the elevator, 20 meters away from the door to their room. He slowly breathed in and out, trying to calm down. Killua stood for a minute or two, and only then was able to calm his breath down. He pushed what had happened to the back of his mind and went back to Gon.

*End of Flashback*

/

Killua pressed his temples while lying on his back on his bed. It was not that much of an issue anyways, everybody did that anyways. He did it, probably Gon too, girls too…

What bothered him was the fact that he had stood there watching her for what felt like an eternity (maybe 15 seconds or so). Why didn't he just leave? Why did he have to make that stupid bet?

He had never been that near of sexuality before (besides his own) and he was having a hard time getting the image of her face out of his mind. He had seen some adult magazines and videos before, but thought they were just lame, almost ridiculous. THIS, however, was very different. He had managed to hear her breath and he had smelled something kind of sweet in the air. He had not really seen anything, but maybe that was much worse since it had gotten his imagination going. He had started wondering about her body under the sheets; warm and soft skin.

Killua slapped his cheeks trying to stop the current of thoughts and images.

"Killua?" Gon asked raising an eyebrow "Are you ok? I heard something."

"Oh, yeah. Don't worry" he said reassuringly. Gon smiled and turned around again to sleep.

Killua sighed and mentally cursed the erection he was getting. He focused on thinking about work, and after a long time he fell asleep.

/

They sat in a long reunion, the third in a row. Killua could hear Val do her thing and feel Gon elbow him on his side for the tenth time.

"Killua!" Gon whisper-yelled at him. "Stop it already"

"S-sorry" Killua sighed. He had been sleepy all day. He had slept around one hour last night. Which had never been a problem for him, he could stay awake for days. But he was NOT trained against boredom and sleepiness combined. Maybe he had been, but was just not used to not sleeping anymore. He mentally cursed the previous day event and decided to focus on the subject at hand. Maybe it was interesting enough to keep him awake. It was, but barely, and he had struggled to pay attention and not fall asleep.

After what seemed like forever to Killua, the reunions were over and, but it was NOT over. Oh no it wasn't. As soon as they got on the cab and waved goodbye the shouting began.

"What the fuck, Killua?!" Vals face was almost red from rage "Do you know how much there was at stake here?! Seriously!"

"Killua" Gon looked at him seriously "It was really disrespectful to everybody in there, specially Val, she was trying her best to do a good presentation. We were lucky she didn't show any signs of nervousness."

"You should be thankful I tried my best to keep their attention on me and Gon kept on waking you up!" Val said and then just sighed and directed her eyes towards the car window deciding not to heat her head up any more.

"I'm sorry guys" Killua said honestly. "I really am. I just barely got any sleep last night."

"Really?" Gon asked "Why? Were you feeling sick?"

"N-no" Killua stuttered when Val turned around and looked at him "There was just something on my mind. But nothing importante, don't mind it".

When Val returned her eyes to the outside Killua mentally sighed, he did NOT want to get into any details about what had kept him awake for many hours. After all, he now was pretty sure that the "event" was in the past; he had, until now, managed to stop thinking about it and he was sure it would be nothing but a memory in a few days.

After a while the awkwardness subsided and they were joking and grinning all around the airport. When they finally sat down in the plane, with Killua sitting between Gon and Val, Gon immediately drifted to sleep. It was so easy for him to sleep that it made Killua jealous. When the plane was already high in the air Killua started getting sleepy again… he would soon REST. But, oh no. Life did not want him to sleep, apparently. As soon as he got kind of sleepy Val turned to him.

"Hey Killua" she said looking at him straight in the eye. "Don't think I forgot about yesterday." She said smirking a little and poking at his side.

Killuas breath was caught in his throat. He was starting to panic. She did NOT notice him yesterday, did she? What was he going to say to her? How was he going to act around her from now on?

"Hey!" Killua snapped out of it when he heard Vals voice. "What's wrong with you? If you cannot afford to pay the debt just tell me."

Killua was relieved; THAT was what she was talking about.

"We can find another way for you to pay, without money." She continued.

"What?" Killua looked at her in surprised and blushed. "Without money? W-what do you mean?"

Val looked at him for a second and then started laughing. "AHAHAHAHAHA" she pointed at him while laughing her ass off. Killua hoped it would wake Gon up, but it didn't. Val continued between laughs "What's up with you? Why would I want you to pay THAT way?"

"What? I don't know what you're talking about." Killua was as red as a tomato and, for the first time in his life, he cursed his pale skin.

"Ohhhh you don't" Val was mocking him, and she was having a blast. "I had NEVER heard you stutter before. AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA-"

Killua looked away in an attempt to hide his red face. He didn't look at her for a whole minute as she kept on laughing.

"Okay! I won't mock you anymore, for now." She smiled evilly. "You can pay by giving me a hand in cleansing my apartment in the weekend. Haven't had enough time to do it, and it's kind of messy all around."

"Oh, okay" Killua said. "No problem."

Val wrote down on a note and handed it to me. "Here. That my address.. It's 10 am. Ok for you? You can call me if something comes up."

Killua took the paper and put it in his pocket. And then, FINALLY, he drifted to sleep.


	3. Cleaning up

Bet You: Chapter 3

The next day went by as usual, but no bets were made. Betting had rules, and one of them stated "No betting shall happen if a previous bet is left unpaid". So, Friday went on as usual; they had to do some boring paperwork, they had lunch and talked about random stuff and hunter topics and headed home after a few hours of training.

Gon and Killua were home and Gon suddenly had an idea.

"Hey Killua, I was invited over to a party. It's a few hours away, but they say it's going to be a blast! I already know where we can stay at and then come back tomorrow afternoon." Gon said excitedly and did a thumbs up.

"I promised Val I would help her out tomorrow as payment, and I don't want this damn bet to last longer than tomorrow." Killua answered truthfully.

"Ohhh, that's too bad. Want me to stay and give you a hand?" Gon suggested.

"No way. I bet it'll be too boring, and a party sounds much better. You should go and have some fun. It's my fault anyways if I go around betting if I have no money." Killua sighed.

"Mouu... I wanted you to come. I'll go and arrange another party so you can come along next time." Gon grinned wildly and headed over to pack a few things and left because he was late already.

Killua watched some TV and then want to bed early. Next morning he was not going to be late; he would always oversleep if Gon wasn't there to wake him up.

/

"AGHHH!" Killua ran all across the house. He had overslept again. It was already 10 am, and Val didn't live close to his house, but if he ran fast enough, he would be there in no time.

He ate something, too a shower and got dressed in 15 minutes and then headed towards Vals house; he arrived "just" 30 minutes late.

Val lived in a SHITTY neighbourhood, it was just like gangster and crime movies in there. It was practically in the outskirts of the city; a few minutes car ride and you'd be in the country.

"Really? I mean…" Killua scratched his head. He did not mind her living there at all, but he just did not understand why she lived there. They were not rich, but the pay down at the Hunter Association was pretty good. So there had to be some explanation for why she lived there… he knew she could definitely afford a place four or five times as expensive as that apartment.

He stood in front of Vals door and knocked on it, there was no bell. He waited for a minute or so and started wondering if it was some sort of bad joke Val was making. Maybe he should hide away or something. Suddenly the door opened and a dust cloud started floating his way.

"Cough-cough" Vals voice was heard and she came out of the dust cloud. "Hey! You're late! I knew it! I was gonna bet on it but you know the rules!" she grinned at him. She had her hair up in some sort of messy bun and she looked DUSTY.

"Heh, well, if you'd bet on it I would've been on time" Killua said.

"Yeah, right. Come in!" she said leading the way inside. "Where's Gon?"

"Gon had a party out of town last night, so I came by myself. It would not have been fair if he had come, after all it's me who goes around betting all his money." He said and, somehow, felt kind of disappointed about her expecting Gon as well. Then he looked around; that place was a mess!

"How did you manage to even live in a place like this? Why didn't you clean up before?" Killua was amazed someone could come home to a place like this.

"Well.. let's say I have not had enough time lately" Val sighed. "Well, let's just get to work!" she handed killua some rubber gloves and got to work. They actually had a good time talking about stuff, mostly about food. After a while they came to Vals bedroom, which was not as messy as the rest of the house. They cleaned up that last room, and after a few hours they were over.

"Well…" she said throwing herself on the bed and putting a mock-sensual pose "You know what's coming, don't you?"

Vals flushed face appeared on Killuas mind again and he got as red as a tomato. He KNEW she was just messing with him; but he could not keep that image away if she joked about THAT.

"Hahahahahaha" Val started laughing "Come on, I never thought you'd be such a kid." She stood up and messed with his hair. "You know, it doesn't really matter."

Killua raised an eyebrow "What does not matter?" he said puzzled.

"You know." She pierced him with her eyes. "I had decided not to say anything, but you seriously are having a hard time dealing with it."

Killuas eyes widened "W-what are you talking about?" she could NOT know about it, could she? Maybe she was talking about something else?

"Ever since we came back you've been acting all shy around. We're both adults; let's just accept what's obvious".

Killua was swating like mad; what was he supposed to say? And if she had noticed him, WHY on earth did she not STOP? Had she wanted him to look at her?

Killua was about to open his mouth when Vals phone started ringing, she was about to get it but Killua decided to speak.

"Why did you not stop? Why did you not say anything?" he said while the phone rang.

"Well, I was just too close and did not want to stop. I would never be embarrassed about something as natural as that; if it made you uncomfortable you should have started by not stalking on me."

Killua thought Val was impossible, how could she say that? "I was not-"

"Hey, relax, no problem. I know you did not want to lose that bet." And then the answering machine went on.

"VAL, they're here." A deep voice spoke. "We're low in man and they don't seem to be considering mercy. We need-" Val was already at the phone and started speaking.

"I'll be right there. Wait for me!" she hung up and turned to look at Killua with a serious face. The most serious he had ever seen her make. Killua suddenly felt like a kid making a fuss about a candy. "Killua, I need you to leave. We're done here anyway." Val started walking towards the door and got her backpack while doing so. Killua just followed her. "Thank you for helping out, I'm sorry to just tell to leave, but I have an urgent matter to attend."

"Okay, no problem" Killua said nodding "See you around."

Killua watched her get on a mountain bike and quickly head away from the center and towards the country. He just sighed and walked back home. It was already lunch time and he was really hungry, so he prepared something to eat and then decided to chill out. But his mind kept going back to Vals face; not that one. Vals last face was as stern as an old persons and Killua couldn't help but wonder what had happened that made her leave that fast.

Finally Gon came back and he asked how things were with Val. Killua just told him they did what they had to and that the place had been a mess. Then, Gon started talking about how fun the party was and about how he had already organized another one for Killua to attend. Killua had always been amazed at Gons popularity; he was everybodys friend. They just trained and chilled for the rest of the weekend.

The next day, however, Val didn't show up at work and called saying she was ill and needed to stay in bed for a few days. Killua knew something was fishy, he just KNEW it all had to do with the call she received on Saturday. He wondered about it for a while and thought that maybe something bad had happened to her. Maybe she was not home at all. What was she hiding?


	4. Doubts

Bet You: Chapter 4

After work that day Killua headed towards Vals house. He felt no presence in there, but knocked anyways. Nobody answered even though he waited for about 10 minutes, so he just headed home.

The next day Val was absent again, and the next one again. Gon kept on saying how he had not expected her to ever be ill, because his instincts had perceived her as strong and healthy. Killua knew Gons instincts were always right. It was all just too suspicious. Killua just sighed and decided to just let it go… for now.

But that didn't mean he would stop noticing her absence; it was boring work and no fun all over again. Gon was not helping out; every time Killua tried to make a joke he would become all ethic and shit. In the end, Killua decided to lay back on his office seat and relax… but as soon as he did so he started thinking about Val.

What was up with her? Not really caring that he saw her ding THAT to herself, simply stating that she didn't want to stop. Living in a dangerous and shitty place while her pay could definitely afford buying or renting a house in a good neighborhood. That message she had received… what was that all about? She had never mentioned anything that could give him a clue about that. Now that Killua thought about it, she had never talked about anything personal at all. The both of them would talk all day and every day, but all they did was joke around. They would make bets on the most random stuff and joke around. They had talked about unimportant things and, occasionally, about news and people in the office, but not much. Now that he thought about it, he knew something about everyone in the office except her. He knew about everybodys political opinions, their moral opinions and personal religious belief. Everybody had talked about their family past life, except for him and Val. He had heard each one of them talk about that kind of stuff. Their lifes and opinions were not much out of the ordinary, but he had never heard her talk about any of that. He remembered it clearly; she would just sit back and listen, sometimes smile a little, but she would never say speak her mind. Even when people just said they had no opinion at all, she would be quiet. But she didn't mind taking part on joking, betting and talking about food (or any other everyday topic).

Killua frowned; he considered Val a friend, but he didn't know anything about her. How come something like that had always passed unnoticed to him? He had always been very sharp and could easily figure people out. He sighed again. After all that's happened last week the way he thought about her would surely change… what could he say to her? How was he going to start talking about this subject? "Hey, you know, you never speak your mind about anything relevant. What do you think about life? What are your personal goals? What about family? Do you have some? Why never say anything about any of that in the first place? I feel offended!" He did feel bad about this; she had never actually opened up to him.

Killua just sighed inwardly and decided to just… wait. Wait and let it flow. If there was a change to talk about any of that he would take it. Then he decided to just get back to work.

After three days of absence Val came back to the office just as if nothing had happened. Killua watched her with interest; there was nothing new with the way she acted.

"Nee, Val!" Gon approached her "You look good! Thank god you feel better already."

"Thank you, Gon!" she smiled "I'm still feeling kind of tired, but I'm ready to come back to work."

Killua approached her and smiles "It's good to have you back." He honestly said. "I was getting bored already with no one to bet and joke around." He smiled and she grinned back.

"Betting? You wanna bet? What's the next thing you're going to do WHEN you lose? Remember you have nothing left to bet! Ahahahahah" She mocked him and Killua just glared.

"Lose? I'm not losing to you anymore." He said defying her.

"We'll just have to wait and see." She said and sat in front of a huge pile of paperwork. "Ughhh… this doesn't look good at all. I think I might feel lightheaded and just might need some more sleep." She said grinning, and then just started doing all that work.

So, everything went back to normal in the office. Well, apparently it did. Killua was now really interested in finding out about her and he just NEW she was aware of his suspicious. She didn't show any signs; but she was a hunter as well. And he knew she was really good. She would NOT be oblivious about his sudden interest, he knew she felt it.

At the end of the day she excused herself from training saying she was still too late with all that paperwork and that she would join them some other time. Gon and Killua went to the usual place where they trained, but as soon as they arrived Gon stopped and looked at his friend.

"Killua, what's up with you?" he asked

"What do you mean?" Killua didn't know what Gon was talking about.

"Is there something going on between you and Val? I have noticed you dozing off a lot in her absence, and today you kept on eyeing her from the corner of your eye." Gon said truthfully. "Did anything happen on Saturday?"

"Well…" Killua was upset; not about Gon asking these things, but about him being so OBVIOUS. "While she was absent I wondered if there was anyone with her… but then realized that I didn't know ANYTHING about her personal life. She has never said anything serious to me, so I realized I knew nothing about her. All we ever did was joke around."

"Really?" Gon seemed surprised. "The both of you seemed pretty close to me. I actually thought the both of you had something going on… you know. Something romantic."

"Whaat? Noo, nothing like that has ever happened!" Killua said wondering if the fact that he had seen her would classify as something romantic.

"I think you should ask her. You're the closest to her at work." Gon continued "Besides, I think she trusts you enough; she invited you over to her place!"

"I was NOT invited. I was supposed to pay a debt by helping her out!" Killua answered.

"Yeah, I know. But if she didn't trust you she would've never suggested something that implied you going over to her house in the first place, would she? She at least trusts you with that."

"Gon, I had never thought about it that way" Killua smiled "Thank you."

Killua knew now that at least ONE topic of conversation might be open, but he suspected that, somehow, it was all connected to why she had left in a hurry that day.

"Now, let's train!" Gon said starting his Hatsu and Killua started right after him

/

A few days passed, everything went by as usual and Killua and Val had to take some papers over to a ministry. They were standing in a long line, again, on which they had bet AGAIN. This time they had left really early and it was Val who had bet that they would take no time in delivering it, while Killua decided to bet on the opposite. So, Killua had a huge grin on his face. He was going to get free chocolate! He was pretty happy about that, but soon his smile faded and a frown crept on his face. There were black clouds above them, it was going to rain in no time and they were really far away from the office.

"Damn, it's a good thing I'm getting free chocolate, but I don't want to get wet!" he sighed while looking at the still long line.

"It's not free, you know? I'm paying for it." Val eyed him and pouted.

After an hour or so they were done, but the rain had started falling, so they ran towards Killuas house, which was only two blocks away. Val bought a few choco robos on the way and they decided take shelter in their apartment until the rain passed.

Killua was thinking about… just maybe ask her about why she lived in a place like that. He was having a hard time making that decision as he was opening the door. He entered and she followed. Killua was thinking hard about how to start a conversation when Val spoke.

"Killua." She said and Killua froze and turned to look at her.


	5. Melt away

Bet You: Chapter 5

"Killua." She said and Killua froze and turned to look at her. "Here you go."

Killua received what the threw at him and looked at it. CHOCOLATE!

Killiua happily sat down on the couch and started munching on the sweets, all issues forgotten; the sweetness of chocolate captivated him. Val kept silent for a while watching Killua with a smile. After a few minutes she broke the silence.

"You're gonna get fat, you know? You're not a kid anymore." Val reprimanded him with a smile.

"Nah, I've bewn eawting these awll my life, thwey won't do me any hwarm, trust mew." Killua answered, his mouth full of chocolate. Then he swallowed.

"All your life? Like, since you were 3?"Val asked

"Uhm..I've been eating lots of sweets as long as I can remember… I think it was before that." Killua pointed out.

"Ugh… did your mother never tell to stop or something? I mean, it's bad for your health, especially if you're a small kid." Val frowned and sat down bedside him.

"No, she didn't seem to care about that. I only remember her being interested in making me stronger. You know, family business and all that shit." Killua answered carelessly.

"It must've been awful." Val looked at him with care in her eyes.

"Nah, don't worry. It has never affected me in any way." Killua said looking at her in the eye.

"Never? How come? Then why would you leave them until now? It's been many years after all."

"I just wanted to decide my own future, you know? I just didn't like assassination; I had never been comfortable with it." Killua looked out the window and watched the rain fall for a second. It suddenly seemed kind of nostalgic. He felt his heart heavy and then turned back to look at Val with a frown.

"I know, we've been through this before. But why never try to contact them after that? The fact that you don't share somebodies point of view doesn't mean you necessarily break those bonds forever, does it?" Val pointed out.

"Well… I actually don't know. I just don't want anything to do with them. It even ruins my day when people talk about them." Killua sighed and looked out the window again, the weight on his chest got heavier and he suddenly felt like screaming. Why was he feeling this way? His family issues had never meant anything to him.

"Really? You haven't talked to or seen any of them for… how long was it again?" Val put her finger to her chin while thinking.

"Almost 4 years now." He said immediately, he didn't have to recall any events.

"That's really a long time…" Val looked out the window and then turned her eyes to Killua again. He felt as though she was looking right into his soul, that she knew him all too well. "Do you now think of them in the same way you used to?"

"Well… I don't really know how I feel about them, it's just something I don't like to think about… It just makes me angry, you know?" Killua said looking into her eyes. She saw something in his eyes that made him look fragile, even though he was one of the physically strongest people she had met. "Gon and I have lived a simple life for all these years, not having much money with us, except lately, which isn't that much eighter. I wouldn't mind living like that again, as long as I get choco-robos." he grinned joking, but something seemed off. Killua looked away and sighed. "I just don't get why making money was so important to them. I mean… if there hadn't been enough to eat or… I dunno… I would've understood. But they had tons of money, I mean, we lived in a fucking mansion and owned a mountain! Why put us through all of that? They were so obsessed with making us top assassins that they didn't give attention to anything else. They even did some things on purpose so that we would be less 'emotional'. I have some vague memories of me trying to hug my parents when I was a little kid, I remember wanting to play and smile with them. But every time they would push me away and say that assassins don't need any of that, they just need to focus on their abilities. I was just a kid! I didn't need to face any of what they threw at me at that age! They were horrible parents, and they probably still think they did the right thing! That's why I won't forgive them and I don't want to know anything about them ever again!" Killua stopped.

He suddenly realized what he had said and looked away from Val. He was feeling pretty confused about anything. He had never given his family a second thought, so he was surprised about what he had actually said. Not only did he not expect to feel SO MUCH about his family, but had said it aloud. And he had said it to Val… He didn't even know how to handle these emotions. What would she think of him now?

"Killua…" Val started but Killua turned around to look away and interrupted her.

"I'm sorry." Then he looked down. "I don't know what came over me. It's not a big deal anyways. I'll figure out how to handle these things I'm feeling."

He suddenly felt warm and soft arms surround his body and her voice was strong and clear, but somehow warm. "Don't. Don't be sorry. Ever. Letting your emotions flow doesn't make you less a man, or less strong. Accepting what you feel is the only way to grow strong; there's nothing to handle. Just let it be, don't suppress your feelings" She finished with a whisper while her hand caressed the back of his head.

Killua couldn't see her, because they were hugging (well, at least Val was hugging him), but he could hear the smile in her voice. He closed his eyes and he could see her warm smile; one he didn't often see. He inhaled deeply… and felt a knot in his throat. He would've never expected it, but tears came out of his eyes. He felt insecure about letting all these feelings simply flow out, he had never cried, ever… at least since he was a little over a toddler. He didn't know how she would handle this situation, so he made a movement to turn away from her, but her hug tightened around him reassuringly and she caressed her back.

"It's ok." She simply stated. Killua just hugged her back and melted into her embrace. He felt like a kid; not himself when he was a kid, but a real kid… well, at least he suspected that's how kids felt. He felt vulnerable, but safe at the same time. There was someone around who would support him and accept him no matter what. He had never really felt like this before. He could smell the crook of her neck; she didn't smell like perfume or shampoo or anything. She had the most unique scent, it was a human scent and he could almost feel his head spinning around. The fact that he had seen her sexually pleasured didn't really have any relevance anymore. He also caressed her back and the back of her head… it was just natural to do so. He just forgot about the world and time seemed to melt away.

They just stayed like that for what seemed forever, he didn't know how much time had actually passed; it could have been 5 minutes or an hour. That was when his phone rang; he suddenly stiffened, feeling awkward again and pulled back and answered the damn phone.

"He-sd-cough" Killuas voice was hoarse and he cleared his throat. "H-Hello? Oh, Gon. Yeah we got stuck in the rain so we passed by the apartment and I had something to eat. Okay, no problem, bye."

Killua looked outside and saw that the rain had almost passed and some sun rays were passing through the now clearer clouds. He stiffly stood up and was about to open his mouth when Val followed and put her hand on his shoulder and Killua looked at her. He saw her grinning widely at him, but her grin had something different from the usual one. She was not just having a good time; she actually looked genuinely happy and had something warm in her eyes.

"Hey." She said patting his shoulder. "I assume we have to get back."

"Yeah" Killua answered while notoriously relaxing. "There will be a reunion to attend in an hour, and that's roughly the time we need to get there. The rain is ceasing anyway."

"Okay, no problem! Let's go!" Val said energetically and headed towards the door and went straight out and pushed the elevator button. Killua smiled as well and he followed her after locking the door. He realized that, somehow, not only the weight in his chest was no longer there, but his heart felt different. It was as if was now filled with helium, making it full and light at the same time. The feeling made a small smile crawl to his lips. He suspected that he had felt it before, or at least something similar, but it had been so long that he didn't remember when it had been. What was it again? Joy? He didn't know, but he didn't really mind. He decided to just enjoy the feeling and leave his thoughts for later. They stayed in some sort of quiet peace until they reached the office.


	6. All About Trust

Bet You: Chapter 6

It was finally Friday; no more boring paperwork or anything at all. Killua would usually be excited about weekend, but somehow he was not enjoying the idea as much as he used to. He trained with Gon and Val for a few hours, as usual, and then they parted ways.

"Killua, you remember what today is right?" Gon asked grinning when they were arrivind home, and put his index finger up. Killua shaked his head. "Today we have a party! You know, the one I convinced them to organize so you could attend?"

"Ohhhh…" Killua wasn't really in the mood for a party, since he was not looking forward to the weekend at all. But looking at Gon he decided to play along with it; Gon had actually organized it so he could attend. So he grinned back and answered. "So, what are we waiting for? Let's get ready and leave!"

"Hell yeah!" Gon smiled happily and got into the bathroom and Killua heard water running.

Killua sighed; why was he like this? He had never really been a fan of parties, but he would still manage to have a good time. Now he didn't even feel like getting out of the house. He sighed again and decided to just put all this in the back of his mind and just try to have a good time; he didn't want to spoil Gons mood, since he had always loved social life. He took a shower when Gon was done and they took the bus towards the place where the party would be held. It was on the beach and the climate was hot and humid; he wished he had put on lighter clothes. As they approached the house he decided he would try to have a good time.

NOT. There were these nagging girls around him all the time. Since it was a beach party, he had taken his shirt of, as everyone else. He wished he hadn't; since they were hunters he and Gon had a considerably much better physical condition than most people in there. And that was probably the reason why they were now surrounded by hungry girls, to which Gon was obviously oblivious and he simply talked happily back. Killua sighed and listened to the bullshit some girls were saying to him. He had always thought that party conversation themes were superficial; he didn't know if this case was worst or he was just less patient about it. They were talking about... what was it again? How drunk they had gotten the last time and how they had OBVIOUSLY rejected some guys who had approached them and how pathetic they had been… Killua just didn't listen anymore. He looked at one of the girls that were looking at him, and she then flipped her brown hair back and winked at him. He simply stood up and excused himself saying he needed to go to the bathroom. He used the wc as a seat and grabbed his head; why on earth did he have to come to this party? How could Gon even stand listening to bullshit? He stayed there for a while and then decided to go out and find something to do. He suddenly saw a group of guys talking and he approached them. Maybe listening to bullshit but not being hit on would be more tolerable. Killua spent an hour or two skipping to different groups of conversation, finally arriving at a specific one. It was the time in which everyone was drunk at the party; he wasn't since he thought it was ridiculous. People in this specific group were not as drunk as in the other ones, and the woman in it didn't seem to want to hit on him. He listened to their conversation. It seemed kind of politics of some sort. He wasn't a fan of politics, but it was way better than staying somewhere else. He listened for a while and said nothing they didn't seem to mind.

"It's not as if the big capitals and the mafia will let the government simply pass that law." A blond short girl said. "They've been conspiring all along to get away with all the damage they've done. The government is too afraid and pressed, there's no way we can rely on them. Maybe things should be taken in our own hands."

"Take into our own hands?" a man said. "How do you pretend to do that? How can our individual action make a change when we're facing all these big fishes? There's no way to bring them down and make a change in the system."

"Maybe we should just leave civilization and live in the woods, you know." another person said. Everyone laughed at that. "Just like the LCL."

"Hey did you guys hear about their outcast faction in Kansterhood?" another girl said. Killua listened up; that place was just by the city Gon and he lived. In fact, it was just by Vals neighbourhood. Just out of town. "It seems last Saturday something big happened, but apparently no one died." Killua lifted an eyebrow.

"Yeah, but it's not the first time. It's no news anymore; I just hope they can bring peace upon themselves."

After that the conversation turned to another topic; something about a politician making a new political party. But Killuas mind was somewhere alse again. Something big happened in Kansterhood last Saturday? Something in which nobody died but could've? It was the direction Val had taken when she had left in a hurry that day. And it was near her place; she leaved in the outskirts of the city and Kansterhood was just next to her neighborhood. It was it too much of a coincidence. LCL? What was that? It seems it was some kind of political organization. It was fishy, he could just ask Val about it, but he was not sure what to expect. Maybe if he hadn't said anything until now it meant she didn't want him to know about it.

Killua approached Gon after a while and decided to just chill by him and watch people make embarrassing things. They stayed there until it was 6 am. and took the first bus home. They arrived at nearly 8 am. and went straight to sleep. Killua woke up 5 hours later and made rice and fish to eat and, since Gon didn't seem to want to wake up anytime soon, he ate by himself. He then decided to do some research on the internet about the 'LCL'. He searched a lot, but there was NOTHING in there. Nothing as nothing related to politics. According to his research LCL was some kind of weird disease, it was also a piece from a professional camera, and so on. He frowned. He decided to check the hunter intranet to search; maybe it was an underground group, but it was weird since people at a party would know about it. Nothing, there was nothing about it in anywhere. Killua frowned. Did it not exist? Was everyone at the party making fun of him and what he had seen last Saturday was just some coincidence? He didn't think so, but why would nothing appear even in the hunter association files? It was weird. Maybe he could ask Val about it, but maybe she wouldn't take the right way the fact that he was investigating about that. But at the same time she was THE best contact he would get; she was, after all, in charge of every file in there.

Killua stopped. Val was in charge. That meant that she could decide to simply erase information about anything. Not only in the internet; but also in the hunter association site.

He frowned. There was no way he could just go and ask her directly about it. But he was now truly interested in her secrets. Anyways it's not as if he'd thought of her as boring before. He had always thought she was nice and interesting, not to mention beautiful. She would always find a way to cheer everyone up and there was always something to talk about. He could also see that she had a good heart; her eyes would soften at the mention of anybodies misery. She had a slim but firm body; not too voluptuous but feminine enough. Her face was really pretty and he assumed that if she ever maked up she would be just like any model, not that he wanted her to be. He liked her he way she was; as simple as it gets. Because of all of that she probably could get any man she wanted and she was probably desired by many. But he didn't know of anyone who thought of her that way in a more serious way. Maybe it was because, at the same time, she hid a part of herself from the world and didn't allow people to get too close. He knew that what he knew of her was true and honest; he knew when people lied. But, even though she was herself and spontaneous, there was a whole world about her that he didn't know of. He trusted her, but apparently she didn't trust him enough to tell him about her personal life.

Then it hit him. He didn't really care that much about who she was or what she did; he felt that he knew her deeply even if he didn't know FACTS about her life. He could always keep on trying to find out about her on his own, but he was not going to. He now knew that what he truly wanted was her trust; he wanted her to tell him all about herself because of personal choice and not because of pressure. Killua smiled a small smile and felt much lighter than he did one moment ago and so, he closed his laptop and decided to wake Gon up.

"Oi, Gon!" he said walking down the hallway. "Wake your lazy ass up, I wanna train!"


	7. Banana Sandwich

Bet You: Chapter 7

Killua stretched his arms and layed back on his seat looking at the ceiling. It had been a BORING couple of weeks in the office. Val had been occupied with some stuff that needed to be attended outside and, well, Gon was a serious worker as always. He actually thought about dropping by and visiting Val more than once after work, but he simply couldn't show up out of the blue. He actually missed her a little. After he had poured his emotions on Val a few weeks ago he just seemed to cherish her presence more than he used to. Her being around didn't only mean fun now. It somehow soothed him, even if she didn't talk to him. He felt reassured when she was around, even though there was no apparent reason for him to need reassurance. Some days he suspected he was developing something towards her, but most of the time he would just shrug it off. Today was one of the days in which he had to deal with those damned suspicions.

He suddenly heard someone enter and stand next to him. It was Jan.

"Boss." Killua said immediately straightening up and acknowledged him with a nod, gesture that was returned.

"Killua, I need you to something for me." Jan searched through a portfolio he was holding and rummaged through a few pages. After a while he took a handful and handed them to Killua. "I need Val to read this today, and she's not coming to the office. Will you please hand it to her for me?"

"Me? Where should I find her?" Killua raised an eyebrow

"I don't know where she is right now and she isn't picking up her phone. I thought you could drop by her place later and hand it to her. You can leave an hour earlier so you don't use you own free time to do it." Jan said.

"Eh? No problem, sir, but why ask me?" Killua said; there was a person in charge of doing these kind of things.

"Well, no one knows where she lives, and I assumed you were the only one who knew that piece of info." Jan smirked a little while raising an eyebrow. Killua heard some chuckles behind him and gave everyone a quick glare, to which they all went back to their own matters.

"Okay… " Killua said under his breath and put the papers in a folder and in his briefcase.

Killua thought he was blushing, so he didn't turn back to look at everyone. What the fuck? Did the whole office think there was something going on between him and Val? It's not like he didn't want anything to happen, but why would everyone suspect such a thing? He sighed and looked at his never-ending paperwork; he smiled. At least he would get to visit her, which was something he was looking forward to.

After a few hours, he finally got to leave that boring place. "Bye, everyone!" he said waving and tried to ignore everyones grins at him. "Gon, I'll see you at home in a few hours." he said to the boy that stood next to him.

"Oh, no need, Killua." Gon whispered and beamed. "I will not expect you awake."

Killua scowled and left before anyone could mock him anymore. He fumed all the way until he got to Vals building. He suddenly forgot everyone's jokes and jumped the stairs up, with a small smile on his lips. He knocked on her door and after a few seconds the door was opened.

There stood Val; she wore fluorescent orange leggings, black military boots and a red indian-looking shirt. Her hair was in a messy bun and she had a yellow head scarf around it, somehow trying to keep it in place, but failing miserably. Killua sweatdropped. He had always seen her at work or while training; so he never actually knew what kind of clothes she wore. Now he did; she was a werido. He inwardly smiled at that.

"What's up with the ridiculous outfit?" he smirked and pointed at her. She looked at herself and scoffed.

"People just don't have a fashion sense. They're the ridiculous ones, dressing all like clones." She grinned and made a pose. "See?"

"Yeah, right." Killua laughed it off. Val got back inside, but Killua simply stood in the doorway.

"Are you coming in?" Val said turning around and raising her eyebrows.

"Oh, right." Killua closed the door and headed towards her living room. It was still tidy enough, which was a relief to Killua and he threw himself on her couch.

"Yeah, make yourself at home." She said and sat next to him. "If you want anything to eat or drink just grab it, okay?"

Killua nodded, a few seconds passed and he looked back at her, feeling a little awkward. She was expecting him to say something. She raised an eyebrow. Suddenly he remembered.

"Oh, right!" Killua opened his briefcase and took a folder and handed it to her. "Here you go. I was supposed to bring this over to you."

"Eh, thank you, I guess." She said. "Why would they send you?"

"No one knew where you lived and Jan said he assumed I did. So, yeah." He answered blushing little bit. "Hey, Val. I've been meaning to ask you something."

Val raised her eyebrows "Go ahead."

"It's alright you don't want to answer me. But, why live in a place like this? I mean, I don't have anything against it, but I'd think you'd be able to afford something better. If you have some kind of problems maybe we could help you out."

"I knew that you'd eventually ask." Val said smiling at him. "Well, long story short, I needed to rent somewhere where no personal documents or data were requested. This kind of neighbourhoods are the only ones who accept that kind of stuff."

"Yeah… Why are you hiding?" Killua asked.

"I'm involved in a political movement… and let's just say that not everyone likes us. So, just in case, I want to keep underground for some time."

"What is it all about? The movement you're part of."

"I wish I could tell you now." Val sighed "But, lately, everything's been pretty unstable, so I'd rather not say. But I promise I will, when the time's right."

"No problem" Killua smiled widely. He felt kind of relieved knowing that Val trusted him enough to say something like that. He saw her stand up, go to the kitchen, and come back with a glass of water.

"I assume you know how to keep a secret." she said.

"What secret? Oh, what you just told me? I'm so sorry! I just texted everyone telling them about it." Killua said smirking, she laughed. The conversation turned light again, and they ended talking about how horrible it was when someone said something embarrassing about themselves in front of other people. Killua complained about how Gon had always been imperceptive to that kind of things and how he always seemed to embarrass him.

"Hey, can I get something to eat?" Killua said.

"I already told you, you go and get whatever you want. Don't ask again." Val said pointing at a door. Killua assumed it was the kitchen and headed that way. After a few minutes he came back with sandwich, sat down again and started chomping on it.

"What the fuck is that?" Val frowned at what he was eating.

"It's a banana sandwich. Duh." Killua said, his mouth full of food.

Val put a disgusted face "How can you put banana in your sandwich? It looks pretty awful."

"Well, people just don't have good taste. It's pretty awful that they all eat the same stuff, like clones or something." Killua said with his index up. Val laughed at that. "You wouldn't believe how good it tastes."

"Ok, let me try it out." She leaned towards Killua, to the point where she was almost laying on top of him. She grabbed the hand that held the sandwich, pulled it to her mouth and took a bite. She swallowed and looked back at Killua.

"Wow, it actually tastes better than I'd thought. It actually is pretty yummy." She said and looked at Killua, who was as red as a tomato. "Wow, you actually blend in with my shirt, Killua." She smirked and his blush got even deeper, if it was possible. She leaned closer to him and poked his cheek. "Why? Want me to taste you now?" she said with a smug smirk.

"Hah, you wish I did. I thing this sandwich is much yummier that you are." Killua smirked back at her.

"Ohhh, suddenly you're all complacent, aren't you?" She said and laughed a bit and pointed at his sandwich. "That tasted good, but I'm way better. Just imagine how good I must be."

"Uh-huh. I highly doubt that." Killua said taking another bite.

"Wanna bet?" Val said with a confident smile.

"Of course, it's always fun to have you buy me chocolate."

"Okay, let's settle this." Val said and Killua raised an eyebrow at her. "Taste me."


	8. Banana Taste

Bet You: Chapter 8

"Okay, let's settle this." Val said and Killua raised an eyebrow at her. "Taste me."

Killua then looked into her eyes. Killua gulped, he didn't know what he was doing, but he would simply let it flow. His eyes were piercing through hers and he leaned a little closer to her; her face now only half a meter away from him.

Killua didn't tear his eyes away from Val, observing her reaction. And then the unthinkable happened; Val blushed. She did. Killua thought he had never seen anything as cute as that, and he made a mental note to mock her later. She looked at him in the eye; her eyes however were much calmer than his. Killua knew his eyes were stormy and expressed nervousness, while her eyes were as soothing and calm as her presence. She cleared her throat and opened her mouth and spoke almost in a whisper. "Go on."

Killua knew that she expected him to do all the work, since he was the one supposed to taste her. He just KNEW she would mock him later, but her lips were the only thing that occupied his. He slowly leaned closer to her, his heart raced and pounded like crazy. He thought that his chest would explode. He stopped just a few centimeters away from her lips and directed his eyes towards her lips. Her eyes were calculating, observing his every move, and they were warm and inviting. He saw her part her lips and he leaned in until his lips brushed hers. Killua felt electricity flow through him and his mind was as if it was drowning in the moment. He finally leaned in and kissed her softly, inhaling her scent and feeling overwhelmed by her soft lips. She kissed his lower lip and bit it slightly. Killua put his hand on her nape and barely pushed her towards the kiss. She complied and Killua kissed her again and licked her lips. She parted just enough for him to slip his tongue in her mouth and Killua savoured her. She tasted like bananas and something else he could not put his finger on. It was almost sweet, and it took over his senses. He had almost lost himself in the kiss when she gave him a last peck and pulled apart. Killua opened his eyes and looked at her; rapid breathing, flushed face, messy hair and intense eyes. Her eyes made the biggest impression on him, because she simply could not look any more beautiful that she did and it made him feel as if the world would crash down any second.

She inhaled and exhaled deeply. "W-wow." She said honestly still looking into his eyes. "That was better than I expected."

"Y-yeah." Killua rubbed the back of his head and looked away still blushing.

"So, tell me." Val smirked "Would you rather have another kiss or another banana sandwich?"

"Hmm…" Killua rubbed his chin and put on a smug smile. "I can't decide just yet. Can I have another try?"

"No way, you have to decide now." Val smirked. She was gonna win; all the way

"Damn." Killua sighed. She was mocking him. She knew that he wanted another kiss, but he would have to admit defeat to get it. He didn't want to lose, but all he could think about was getting another kiss. "Ok, damn it. I lose. Happy?"

"Yeaaah!" she beamed and made a winning pose.

"So?" Killua approached her with a dirty grin. "Can I get another one?"

"What? Another what?" Val raised an eyebrow innocently. "I don't know what you're talking about. The bet's over." She smirked while raising her chin as if looking down at him mockingly.

Killuas eye twitched. Was she really going to do this? What was he supposed to do? Just go ahead and eat another fucking SANDWICH? He looked at her with an unbelieving expression and waited for a reaction; he knew that she wanted more… a few seconds passed by.

"PFFF—HAHAHAHAHA" Val started laughing her ass off. Even a tear or two appeared on the corner of her eye. After a while she wiped them off and looked back a Killua, who had an annoyed face. "Ha-ahah… come on, Killua. I'm just teasing you." She lifted her finger. "Just one more. Don't get used to this."

Killua smirked. He knew she wanted to go on as much as he did. He grabbed her waist and pulled her closer, looking into her eyes with a smug smirk.

"Don't deny it, you want this." He said and, when she opened her mouth to protest, he kissed her full on the lips. She grabbed his head with both hands and practically buried her face in his. Killua pressed her against his body. He could feel her body against him and her warmth engulf his senses. He was pushing her down into the sofa when she pushed him away and gave him a last peck.

"Hah" Val smirked "Hold it right there. It was a kiss, and just one."

"Aren't you supposed to be like super sexually free and stuff?" Killua tried to hold her by the waist again but Val dodged his hands and stepped back.

"Two things." She lifted a finger while putting a serious face. "First. The fact that I believe in sexual freedom doesn't mean I'll go and fuck the first man that approaches me." Killua gulped sensing she was a bit annoyed. She then lifted a second finger and put on a smirk. "Second. It's fun teasing you."

"Yeah, I can see that." Killua said almost pouting. Val gave him a small smile.

"Hey, I'll prepare one of those banana sandwiches of yours. Want one too?" She asked changing the topic.

"Nah, I think I better head home. Gon said he'd be waiting for me." Killua lied. The truth was that he needed to think things over and it was late anyways, he'd been at Vals place for almost two hours. He didn't really know how time had flew so fast, but he needed to head home and clear his mind.

"Ohhh.. that's too bad." Val put on an exaggerated tragic expression and raised her arms into the air. She laughed and looked into Killuas eyes. "Okay , no problem." She headed to the door and opened it up for him. "You can drop by anytime."

"Ok." Killua said and passed her by. "See you around!"

"Bye!" Val happily waved at him from the doorway. "Remember you owe me! And don't get used to this!"

Kilua didn't look back at her but waved to let her know that he'd heard her just fine. He headed home, his head a turmoil of thoughts and images of him and Val.


	9. A one time thing

Bet You: Chapter 9

Killua pulled his hair in annoyance; Gon had been throwing him smug glances since the previous day. He had come home from Vals and Gon had immediately asked how it had been and Killua, of course, said ok a nothing out of the ordinary. He was sure he had not put a suspicious face or changed his expression, but Gon somehow perceived that something was off. And since then he had been mocking him and asking "how Val was" and shit. They sat at work and they were supposed to be working. Well, Gon actually was; he simply threw a glance his way once in a while, smirked, and kept on working. He, being Killua, of course wouldn't just go back to work; he had to find a way to STOP Gon before the rest of the office started mocking him too. He was trying to remember something embarrassing about Gon, but his sharp memory was failing him NOW. Suddenly the door opened and Val came through.

"Heyy! Good morning everyone!" she grinned and raised her hand. Everyone greeted back and went back to work… except for Killua who froze at her sight and a light blush covered his face… and except for Gon who was looking at him with an amused expression. Killua realized this and turned his face back to his paperwork; when the fuck had Gon become like that? He sighed and forced his mind back to his work; he just hoped the day went by fast.

It didn't. He was awfully self-conscious and he knew Gon was very aware of him. And, on top of that, he kept thinking about Val; he was just too conscious about her and the temptation of looking her way was great. On top of that, she kept throwing jokes at him, as usual, but he would just laugh a little and go back to work. He didn't want Gon to see him blush again. After what seemed forever, it was time to go home.

"I'll wait for you downstairs, Gon." he said while hurriedly picking up his stuff and heading towards the stairs. When he finally reached the entrance hall he let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.

"Why, no need to sigh every time you see me, Killua." Killua froze and looked around. Val stood there with a small smile on her lips. "So, what's going on?"

"Huh?" Killua raised an eyebrow.

"You've been avoiding me all day. Does it have something to do with what happened yesterday?"

"Well.. Gon's been a pain in the ass. He keeps on trying to find out if something's going on between us." Killua answered scratching his chin. "I guess I should tell him, but I don't want him pestering me all day long."

"Ahahahaha- K-Killua. So what? If you make a big deal out of it he'll tease you even more. Just tell him what happened, it's not that big of a deal. Everyone has had a one-time thing, ne?" she said elbowing him and then turned to leave and raised her hand "I'll be going now, something up. Bye!"

Killua sighed and looked back to the staircase, a few seconds later Gon appeared and they both headed home.

"So…" Gon begun.

"Ok, ok." Killua sighed in defeat. "I'll tell you ok."

Gon beamed and Killua told him about the time when Val comforted him about his family and about the day they kissed. Gon was radiating and almost jumping from excitement.

"I knew iiiit! Why didn't you tell me before?! Have you confessed yet? Are you going to bring her flowers or something? Gonna ask her out?"

"Wai-what?" Killua looked at Gon and raised his hands in front of him, but he couldn't suppress a small blush. "There's nothing romantic going on between us. She comforted me as a friend, and that kiss was just a one-time thing."

"You don't even believe that, Killua!" Gon said crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"Well, she definitely does, so I better believe it too." Killua said looking away and his eyes landed on a pretty couple walking hand in hand. Killua sighed. Val was completely different from other girls, he couldn't even picture her being together with someone. She wasn't girly, she didn't seem to like romantic clichés, she didn't even seem interested in men. How did Gon expect him to do anything like that, assuming that he actually wanted to. Did he? He didn't know for sure, but whatever it was he was feeling, he had to deal with it soon, before he got to a point of no return.

"Killua!" Gon startled Killua, and the latter looked back at him. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah- I just spaced out."

"No, I mean are you ok with that? I've known you for 7 years now, I KNOW you don't just want to be friends with her."

"Wh-why would you say that?" Killua blushed even more.

"I've seen how you look at her. You may not realize it, but it's obvious to me. You like her, at the very least."

Killua rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Gon, just drop it." He didn't want to go any deeper into this subject. "Let's just pretend nothing's ever happened between the two of us."

Gon looked at Killua with concern, but decided to stop talking to him about it, at least for now. They simply walked home in silence, and as soon as they arrived, Killua locked himself in his room until the next day.

The next week went by peacefully; Gon stopped nagging Killua, Killua stopped blushing like a madman and he and Val went back to usual. They would make bets, joke around, and so on.

Next Saturday morning Killua headed towards a specific store in order to have their electric oven fixed, since it hadn't been working for a few days. He was near Vals neighbourhood, so Killua just wondered what she was up to. Somehow, without consciously planning it, his feet carried him to her street. He looked up to her apartment and remembered the last time he had been there. She had actually told him to drop by any time. He bought raspberries for her, since he owed her, and headed to her front door. He stood there for a second and then knocked on the door. A few seconds later Val opened the door.

"H-huh? Killua!" she widely smiled at him. "What's up? How're you doing?"

"I'm alright, I was in the neighborhood, so I decided to drop by and pay you." He said with lazy eyes and handed her a box of raspberries. She beamed and her eyes shone at that and Killuas eyes softened. She took the box happily and lifted it up as if it were some sort of treasure.

"Everytime is perfect for strawberries! Come in!" Val stepped to the side and led Killua inside closing the door behind her. Killua entered her living room and as soon as he stepped in he felt a third presence. He looked to the side and saw a baby girl, not older than 3, sitting at the dining table.

"Hwello." She said smiling. Killua simply stood dumbfounded and raised his hand at the toddler and forced a smile; he lacked experience with little kids. He looked back at Val who had just entered the room and got closer to her.

"Care to introduce us?"


	10. Trust

Bet You: Chapter 10

"Hwello." She said smiling. Killua simply stood dumbfounded and raised his hand at the toddler and forced a smile; he lacked experience with little kids. He looked back at Val who had just entered the room and got closer to her.

"Care to introduce us?"

"Oh, ok." She said raising an eyebrow. "Anako, Killua, Killua, Anako. There you go. Now shake hands." Anako stood up and jumped happily towards Killua and stretched her hand upwards. She had beautiful big amber eyes, black mid-length hair and fair skin. She was a like a miniature version of Val. Killua took the little girls hand and shook it lightly and honestly smiled.

"Pleased to meet you." Killua said patting her head.

"Pleased to meet you!" Anako answered and then asked both Killua and Val to play with her. They played with some wooden cubes and tried to build some kind of house. Killua was reminded about his own childhood when he used to play with Alluka and a warm yet nostalgic feeling came over him.

After half an hour or so Val put the baby girl to sleep and came back. Killua was sitting on the floor and played with one of the cubes. Val sat on the floor next to him and stared at him for a while.

"How old is she?" he asked not looking at her.

"She's two and a half years old." Val said. "She's a sweetheart, isn't she?"

"Yeah…" Killua still didn't look at her. "Doesn't she live here with you?"

"Huh?" Val looked puzzled. "Well, no she doesn't. She lives with my brother. Even if she wanted to I would never allow something like that; it's too dangerous around here and I can't look after her all day long."

Killua was silent for a while. He then looked at Val with sadness, or was it anger?

"Why didn't you tell me about her?" he said containing himself. How was it possible? Did she not trust him and Gon? They were friends, weren't they? Why would she keep her daughter from them? Why had he never heard of her before? Who was the father? Was Val still together with him? Killua felt deeply brayed, even though there was no reason to be. He and Val were just friends, and maybe she had a good excuse for not telling him about it. Killua looked at Val and her expression turned from a confused one to a knowing one. She looked at him with interest.

"There's nothing to say. She's my niece, not my daughter, Killua." She said with a small smile.

"Oh." Killua was relieved. He looked back at Val and scratched the back of his head. "Forget about it, then."

"No way."

"Huh?"

"No way." Val looked damn serious. "What would have happened if she'd been mine? What would you have thought?"

"I… I don't know." Killua said and tried to imagine the situation. "What I was currently feeling was a little betrayed. I kept wondering why you hadn't said anything about her." He looked out of the window, hiding his face from her. "And I wondered if you and her father were still together, I wondered if you'd cheated on him when…" He didn't finish his sentence. The thought of her lying to him like that made his heart clench.

"Killua." Val said and Killua looked back into her eyes. "I would never do something like that. If I'd had a daughter or son I would've told you. If I'd been together with somebody I would've told you. And I would've never cheated, except of course in an open relationship. Which I don't have."

"Oh, ok. We're good then. I just somehow thought you were playing with my feelings."

"Playing with your feelings?"

"W-No." Killua cleared his throat and tried to calm his speeding heart. "I mean, I thought you were playing with his feelings. I mean-" He stopped for a second. "I thought you were playing with his feelings, though me. What I mean is, if you did that you'd play with mine as well. Not that I-"

"Killua" Val put a finger on his mouth and looked into his eyes warmly. She had so much care in her eyes that it made her look fragile and strong at the same time. "Listen. I would never play with anybody's feelings, MUCH less with yours." She stressed the word much and then her finger moved from his mouth to his cheek and caressed it. Killua felt his heart race. Did she…? Her eyes were softer than ever and it was as if she was an open book. For the first time, Killua saw a little apprehension in her and his hand moved to touch her cheek as well. He softly cupped her cheek and he swore he saw her eyes tear up a bit.

"Val, wh-" Killua started but something flicked in her eyes at the sound of his voice, as if she was waking from a dream. She tore her hand away from him in a rush and stiffened. It was almost funny, since she was acting the way Killua had used to and he was the cool one now.

"We're friends, aren't we?" she said faking a smile, which didn't fool Killua at all. "Friends care about eachother. So I'd never do something like that to you"

Killua looked at her and furrowed his eyes. What was that about? He decided to drop it, since she didn't seem willing to talk about it.

"So, your niece." Killua changed the subject.

"Oh, yeah. She's my sisters daughter, but lives with my brother and his mate. She really nice towards her, as if she were her real mother."

"Why doesn't she live with her actual mother?" Killua raised an eyebrow and he saw Val eyes sadden a bit at the question.

"Well…" Killua saw some doubt in her eyes, as if she wasn't sure if she wanted to answer. She took a deep breath and spoke. "She died a little over a year ago."

"I-I'm sorry." Killua said putting his arm on Vals shoulder.

"Anako doesn't really remember her… she had an accident; she fell down from a second floor and landed head first." Val looked out of the window. "On top of that it was on the 8th anniversary of my parents death, you know? They died 8 and a half years ago; I was 13 at the time."

"How did it happen?"

"They were murdered." Val answered not looking at him, so he couldn't see her face. Killuas eyes widened at that. "They were murdered because they wanted to follow their dreams till the end."

A few seconds passed by and neither spoke. Killua decided to wait until she had decided to talk further or not.

"My parents had established some sort of political movement. They started working on it when they were around our age; it was some sort of anarchist movement. They believed in a world with no money, no private property, no state, no religion, with individual freedom and community life. They established a cooperative with everyone within the movement and bought 50 hectares of wild land. They built small houses out of natural materials, had artisan work done, raised their own animals and food and so on. It went without much trouble for around 10 or 15 years. But their dream was way too utopic; in the end internal conflicts took over. There was a point at which the situation had become untenable, there were two big factions. One was on my parents side; they supported a peaceful life away from society and living close to nature. The other on was violent; they thought the system would crush their dream and it had to be destroyed. The faction to which my parents belonged gathered around twice as much people as the violent one, and eventually the latter thought of them as a threat. So they entered our house on night and killed them in their sleep; I don't know, though, why they let the three of us live. That event made the peaceful faction much weaker; many left in fear of being murdered too, and our parents were leaders, even though there weren't any officially. The violent ones took over the movements name, but they left the commune land. Nowadays the peaceful faction remains, but it's been really difficult to keep it going. There are sometimes confrontations, but we've managed to lower our profile."

"We?"

"Yes, we. That's the reason I live in this place, I can't give my background or name away, and they allow me to pay every day in this apartment. I wanted to tell you earlier, but things were pretty difficult before. Right now the status isn't good, but it's acceptable."

Killua smiled at Val. She looked at him a little confused.

"I'm glad you've actually told me about yourself." Val looked startled a his remark. "I've known for quite some time that you hid a lot about your personal life. I was expecting you to trust me and tell me about it."

"You know, I've wanted to for a long time. But it was just too complicated at the time." Val smiled.

"I know, you would never hide anything from me, just like you wouldn't play with my feelings." Killua said smirking and Val fidgeted in discomfort. Killua let out a small smug laugh and elbowed Val on her side.

"N-nothing!"


End file.
